1956 Tour de France
Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dates | 5–28 July 1956 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stages | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance | 4,498 km (2,795 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Winning time | 140h 06' 05" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1956 Tour de France was the 43rd Tour de France, taking place from July 5 to 28, 1956. It consisted of 22 stages over 4498 km, ridden at an average speed of 36.268 km/h.[1]
There was no previous Tour winner competing for the 1956 title, which had only previously happened in 1903 and 1927. An unknown rider from a regional national team, Roger Walkowiak on the Northeast-Center French team, ended up taking the title. Many Tour fans dismissed the win as being lucky or unworthy at the time, which Walkowiak took hard and did not often speak of his win.
Five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault praised his win saying: There are people who say that Walkowiak should not have won the Tour. They should have been on that Tour! He took the jersey, he lost it and he regained it. He was not a thief. The Tour is not a gift.[2] The Tour was ridden at the fastest average speed to date, over 36 km/h. Walkowiak also became only the second rider, after Firmin Lambot in the 1922 Tour de France, to win without taking a single stage, and is the only Tour de France winner to date who never won a stage in any year.
Participants
As was the custom since the 1930 Tour de France, the 1956 Tour de France was contested by national and regional teams. Seven national teams were sent, with 10 cyclists each from France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Luxembourg/Mixed (the latter a combined team of seven Luxembourgian cyclists added with one Portuguese, on British and one Italian cyclist). France additionally sent five regional teams from 10 cyclists each, divided into Center-North East France, South East France, West France, Ile de France and South West France.[3][4] In total, 120 cyclists started the race.[3]
Stages
The 1956 Tour de France started on 5 July, and had two rest days, in Bordeaux and Aix-les-Provence.[5]
Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 July | Reims – Liège | 223 km (139 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
2 | 6 July | Liège – Lille | 217 km (135 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
3 | 7 July | Lille – Rouen | 225 km (140 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
4a | 8 July | Rouen – Circuit des Essarts | 15.1 km (9 mi) | ![]() |
Individual time trial | ![]() |
4b | Rouen – Caen | 125 km (78 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() | |
5 | 9 July | Caen – Saint-Malo | 189 km (117 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
6 | 10 July | Saint-Malo – Lorient | 192 km (119 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
7 | 11 July | Lorient – Angers | 244 km (152 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
8 | 12 July | Angers – La Rochelle | 180 km (112 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
9 | 13 July | La Rochelle – Bordeaux | 219 km (136 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
10 | 15 July | Bordeaux – Bayonne | 201 km (125 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
11 | 16 July | Bayonne – Pau | 255 km (158 mi) | ![]() |
Stage with mountain(s) | ![]() |
12 | 17 July | Pau – Luchon | 130 km (81 mi) | ![]() |
Stage with mountain(s) | ![]() |
13 | 18 July | Luchon – Toulouse | 176 km (109 mi) | ![]() |
Stage with mountain(s) | ![]() |
14 | 19 July | Toulouse – Montpellier | 231 km (144 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
15 | 20 July | Montpellier – Aix-en-Provence | 204 km (127 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
16 | 22 July | Aix-en-Provence – Gap | 203 km (126 mi) | ![]() |
Stage with mountain(s) | ![]() |
17 | 23 July | Gap – Turin | 234 km (145 mi) | ![]() |
Stage with mountain(s) | ![]() |
18 | 24 July | Turin – Grenoble | 250 km (155 mi) | ![]() |
Stage with mountain(s) | ![]() |
19 | 25 July | Grenoble – Saint-Étienne | 173 km (107 mi) | ![]() |
Stage with mountain(s) | ![]() |
20 | 26 July | Saint-Étienne – Lyon | 73 km (45 mi) | ![]() |
Individual time trial | ![]() |
21 | 27 July | Lyon – Montluçon | 237 km (147 mi) | ![]() |
Stage with mountain(s) | ![]() |
22 | 28 July | Montluçon – Paris | 331 km (206 mi) | ![]() |
Flat Stage | ![]() |
Classification leadership
Stage | General classification![]() Maillot jaune |
Points classification![]() Maillot vert |
Mountains classification Grand prix de la montagne |
Team classification Classement par équipe |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
![]() |
N/A | Luxembourg/Mixed |
2 | ||||
3 | ![]() |
![]() | ||
4A | ||||
4B | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() | |
5 | ||||
6 | ![]() | |||
7 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() | |
8 | ![]() |
West France | ||
9 | ||||
10 | ![]() |
![]() | ||
11 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() | |
12 | ![]() |
![]() | ||
13 | ||||
14 | ![]() | |||
15 | ![]() |
![]() | ||
16 | ||||
17 | ||||
18 | ![]() |
![]() | ||
19 | ![]() | |||
20 | ||||
21 | ||||
22 | ||||
Final | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Results
Overall standings
Of the 120 cyclists that started the 1956 Tour de France, 88 finished the race.
Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() ![]() |
North East-Center | 124h 01'16" |
2 | ![]() |
France | +1'25" |
3 | ![]() |
Belgium | +3'44" |
4 | ![]() |
Spain | +10'14" |
5 | ![]() |
Italy | +10'25" |
6 | ![]() |
Netherlands | +10'59" |
7 | ![]() |
South East France | +14'01" |
8 | ![]() ![]() |
Belgium | +16'52" |
9 | ![]() |
France | +22'59" |
10 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | +26'03" |
Final general standings (11–88) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
11 | ![]() |
Netherlands | +27'16" |
12 | ![]() |
France | +30'15" |
13 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | +32'14" |
14 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | +33'54" |
15 | ![]() |
Netherlands | +38'40" |
16 | ![]() |
France | +39'51" |
17 | ![]() |
Belgium | +41'47" |
18 | ![]() |
West France | +42'28" |
19 | ![]() |
South East France | +47'19" |
20 | ![]() |
Belgium | +49'53" |
21 | ![]() |
Belgium | +50'56" |
22 | ![]() |
Italy | +54'56" |
23 | ![]() |
Italy | +56'58" |
24 | ![]() |
Italy | +59'58" |
25 | ![]() |
West France | +1h 03'53" |
26 | ![]() |
Italy | +1h 07'25" |
27 | ![]() |
Italy | +1h 09'13" |
28 | ![]() |
Netherlands | +1h 09'27" |
29 | ![]() |
Spain | +1h 22'24" |
30 | ![]() |
Netherlands | +1h 24'10" |
31 | ![]() |
South West France | +1h 24'58" |
32 | ![]() |
Belgium | +1h 25'15" |
33 | ![]() |
Belgium | +1h 25'59" |
34 | ![]() |
France | +1h 26'32" |
35 | ![]() |
France | +1h 29'52" |
36 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | +1h 32'57" |
37 | ![]() |
West France | +1h 34'02" |
38 | ![]() |
Ile de France | +1h 39'57" |
39 | ![]() |
Belgium | +1h 41'06" |
40 | ![]() |
Ile de France | +1h 43'41" |
41 | ![]() |
Italy | +1h 45'55" |
42 | ![]() |
Italy | +1h 46'58" |
43 | ![]() |
North East-Center | +1h 48'51" |
44 | ![]() |
Ile de France | +1h 49'25" |
45 | ![]() |
Belgium | +1h 51'32" |
46 | ![]() |
France | +1h 53'38" |
47 | ![]() |
Switzerland | +1h 55'40" |
48 | ![]() |
Italy | +1h 57'20" |
49 | ![]() |
France | +1h 57'32" |
50 | ![]() |
West France | +1h 59'20" |
51 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | +2h 06'19" |
52 | ![]() |
North East-Center | +2h 10'24" |
53 | ![]() |
South East France | +2h 11'01" |
54 | ![]() |
France | +2h 16'36" |
55 | ![]() |
Italy | +2h 17'54" |
56 | ![]() |
West France | +2h 20'53" |
57 | ![]() |
South East France | +2h 22'47" |
58 | ![]() |
Spain | +2h 23'57" |
59 | ![]() |
West France | +2h 29'28" |
60 | ![]() |
Switzerland | +2h 29'56" |
61 | ![]() |
South West France | +2h 30'45" |
62 | ![]() |
Switzerland | +2h 31'07" |
63 | ![]() |
West France | +2h 32'40" |
64 | ![]() |
Switzerland | +2h 34'09" |
65 | ![]() |
Spain | +2h 34'28" |
66 | ![]() |
Ile de France | +2h 38'49" |
67 | ![]() |
South West France | +2h 47'30" |
68 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | +2h 47'37" |
69 | ![]() |
South East France | +2h 48'08" |
70 | ![]() |
Spain | +2h 50'24" |
71 | ![]() |
North East-Center | +2h 52'37" |
72 | ![]() |
Ile de France | +2h 55'51" |
73 | ![]() |
South West France | +2h 57'18" |
74 | ![]() |
Spain | +2h 59'16" |
75 | ![]() |
South East France | +3h 02'03" |
76 | ![]() |
West France | +3h 03'33" |
77 | ![]() |
Spain | +3h 05'19" |
78 | ![]() |
South West France | +3h 07'01" |
79 | ![]() |
South West France | +3h 09'12" |
80 | ![]() |
North East-Center | +3h 11'07" |
81 | ![]() |
Spain | +3h 16'56" |
82 | ![]() |
North East-Center\ | +3h 19'07" |
83 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | +3h 23'06" |
84 | ![]() |
South West France | +3h 38'29" |
85 | ![]() |
South West France | +3h 52'47" |
86 | ![]() |
Netherlands | +4h 02'22" |
87 | ![]() |
Switzerland | +4h 07'53" |
88 | ![]() |
South East France | +4h 10'18" |
Points classification
The points classification in 1956 was calculated in the same way as since the introduction in 1953, following the calculation method from the Tours de France from 1905 to 1912. Points were given according to the ranking of the stage: the winner received one points, the next cyclist two points, and so on. These points were added, and the cyclist with the least points was the leader of the points classification. In 1956, this was won by Stan Ockers with 280 points.[3] Over 22 stages (including one split stage), this meant that his average stage finish was approximately place 13.
Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() ![]() |
Belgium | 280 |
2 | ![]() |
West France | 464 |
3 | ![]() |
Netherlands | 465 |
4 | ![]() |
France | 489 |
5 | ![]() |
France | 510 |
6 | ![]() |
Netherlands | 546 |
7 | ![]() |
Belgium | 578 |
8 | ![]() |
Italy | 596 |
9 | ![]() |
South East France | 624 |
10 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | 628 |
Mountains classification
Points for the mountains classification were earned by reaching the mountain tops first. The system was almost the same as in 1955: there were three types of mountain tops: the hardest ones, in category 1, gave 10 points to the first cyclist, the easier ones, in category 2, gave 6 points to the first cyclist, and the easiest ones, in category 3, gave 3 points. Charly Gaul won this classification.[3]
Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | 71 |
2 | ![]() |
Spain | 67 |
3 | ![]() |
South West Franc | 65 |
4 | ![]() ![]() |
Belgium | 55 |
5 | ![]() |
Belgium | 30 |
6 | ![]() ![]() |
Northeast-Center France | 22 |
7 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | 15 |
8 | ![]() |
South East France | 14 |
9 | ![]() |
France | 13 |
9 | ![]() |
Belgium | 13 |
9 | ![]() |
Spain | 13 |
Team classification
The team classification was calculated as the sum of the daily team classifications, and the daily team classification was calculated by adding the times in the stage result of the best three cyclists per team. It was won by the Belgian team, with a large margin over the Italian team.
Rank | Team | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | Belgium | 369h 47' 42" |
2 | Italy | +1h 01' 04" |
3 | Netherlands | +1h 13' 11" |
4 | France | +1h 24' 08" |
5 | West France | +1h 44' 12" |
6 | South East France | +1h 57' 39" |
7 | Spain | +3h 04' 35" |
8 | Luxembourg/Mixed | +3h 12' 59" |
9 | Northeast-Center France | +3h 55' 25" |
10 | South East France | +4h 43' 10" |
11 | Ile de France | +5h 33' 50" |
12 | Switzerland | +6h 41' 33" |
Every team finished with at least three cyclists, so all teams were included in the team classification.
Combativity classification
After each stage, a jury voted for the most combative cyclist of that stage. Those votes were added in the combativity classification. André Darrigade won this classification.[1]
Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
France | 175 |
2 | ![]() |
West France | 142 |
3 | ![]() |
Luxembourg/Mixed | 119 |
4 | ![]() |
Italy | 118 |
5 | ![]() |
Ile de France | 106 |
Other classification
After every stage, the jury also gave a prize to the cyclist with the most bad luck. The award for most bad luck during the entire Tour de France went to Fernand Picot.[9]
References
- Specific
- ^ a b Jacques Augendre (2009). "Guide Historique, part 6" (PDF) (in French). Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ McGann, Bill (2006). The Story of the Tour de France Volume 1: 1903-1964. Dog Ear Publishing. p. 219. ISBN 1598581805.
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ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f "43ème Tour de France 1956" (in French). Memoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- ^ a b "Tour-Giro-Vuelta". Retrieved 10 December 2009.
- ^ Jacques Augendre (2009). "Guide Historique, part 3" (PDF) (in French). Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Arian Zwegers. "Tour de France GC Top Ten". CVCC. Archived from the original on 2009-06-10. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "1956: 43e editie". Tourdefrance.nl. 30 December 2003. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- ^ "La Vuelta Ciclista a Francia" (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 29 July 1956. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- ^ (in Dutch). Leeuwarder Courant. 29 July 1953 http://www.archiefleeuwardercourant.nl/site/article.do?code=LC&date=19560730&id=LC-19560730-5007. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
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